The invention herein described relates to foldable infant carriers and to the means by which the carrier is locked into the open position and brought into the folded position.
Foldable infant carriers are known in the art. Many of those presently available, however, are unsatisfactory in several aspects. Quick and convenient means for folding the carrier are particularly difficult to achieve with carriers employing a rigid seat assembly. The adjustment of the infant seat assembly relative to the main frame assembly in many carriers is also generally unduly cumbersome, requiring both hands to operate thereby causing jarring of the infant during adjustment. The present invention solves this deficiency by providing for adjustment by a handle on the back of the infant seat assembly. With one hand, the seat assembly of the present invention may be adjusted while at the same time the weight of the infant may be supported.
Although prior art infant carriers were equipped with sun shades, they were usually rigidly attached to the frame assembly. This did not allow for adequate adjustment to compensate for changes in the location of the sun or in the position of the seat assembly. In one embodiment of the present invention the sun shade is pivotally attached to the seat assembly to obtain proper shading of the infant regardless of seat or sun position.
Prior art carriers also suffered from inadequate means for locking the infant carrier into the open position. This was due to the fact that in so doing, two opposing goals are desired. First, the means selected must provide a reliable, securely locked position such that the infant carrier will not fold unexpectedly. Second, the means selected must provide for quick and easy release so that the infant carrier may be folded without undue time and effort. A means typically employed by prior art devices to accomplish these goals comprised cross members pivotally attached to a central lever and to the main frame. The lever could be pushed past the centerline of the cross members and hence hold the carrier in the locked open position by the tension thereby exerted. This lever device was deficient in that the lever could be easily hit and knocked out of the locked position. Also, the lever could not be used to adjust or lift the carrier in the open position. According to the present invention a novel trigger and latch mechanism is provided which safely and securely maintains the crossbars in a locked position in which the mechanism may be used as a handle to adjust the seat, and which also provides for quick and easy folding of the carrier.
Thus it is the object of the present invention to provide an improved foldable infant carrier which is lockable and foldable by means of a single trigger and latch mechanism.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an infant carrier wherein the seat assembly is substantially rigid rigid in the open position and may be adjusted using one hand while simultaneously supporting the weight of the infant.
It is another object to provide a foldable infant carrier which will securely and reliably lock in the open position but which will also easily and quickly fold to the closed position.
It is yet a further object of the prefered embodiment of the present invention to provide a sun shade assembly in combination with the infant carrier whereby proper shading is provided regardless of the position of the seat assembly or the location of the sun.
Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from a reading of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the appended claims.